Euthanasia prevention advocates say a B.C. government document that discourages strictly applying oversight measures for medical assistance in dying (MAID) providers who commit infractions raises questions about the system’s ability to protect ineligible patients.
Alicia Duncan, a euthanasia prevention advocate whose mother died through MAID in B.C. in 2021, says oversight must protect from “unlawful death” rather than “shield providers from scrutiny.”
A decision briefing note approved by the B.C. deputy minister of health on Nov. 8, 2023, obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from and first reported on by The B.C. Catholic newspaper, calls for the adoption of an oversight policy while cautioning against the “overly strict” use of referrals to police or professional colleges when MAID providers violate the Criminal Code, professional standards, or federal or provincial safeguards….